Celebrating 150 Years of Service to the Nation

This year, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. As mandated in its Act of Incorporation, the Academy serves to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called upon to do so by any department of the government.

In this episode from PBS's "Earth: The Operators' Manual," Richard Alley, NAS member and Chair of the Koshland Science Museum exhibit, EarthLab: Degrees of Change, sets the stage for the NAS’s founding. The excerpt begins at the Lincoln Memorial where Alley tells the little-known story of how Lincoln and his advisors founded the NAS to address scientific problems during the Civil War. Watch the video.

On April 27, 2013, President Barack Obama addressed members of the NAS on science and innovation, announcing major investments in research and education and encouraging members to think about new ways to engage young people in science. Watch Obama’s address.